Federal lawmakers are acting responsibly in pushing for legislation that would protect soldiers exposed to disease-causing toxins.

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., is among lawmakers advancing a measure to improve medical care for U.S. soldiers exposed to toxic chemicals during wartime military service. The significance of the legislation is felt in Lawrence County. Jim Gentry of Williams is terminally ill with cancer, a disease he blames on a dangerous toxin he and 140 of his men were exposed to while guarding a water treatment facility near Basrah, Iraq. Gentry, a retired lieutenant colonel, led the Jasper-based 1st Battalion, 152nd Regiment during its 2003 tour.

The soldiers, many of whom filed a lawsuit against the Houston-based defense contractor KBR Inc., allege the company understood the danger posed by the orange powder, sodium dichromate, covering the sand around the plant, but disregarded it. National Guard soldiers from Oregon, West Virginia and South Carolina who also guarded the Qarmat Ali water treatment facility say they were exposed to the deadly carcinogen.

The legislation, according to a news release from the offices of Bayh and the measure’s co-sponsors, said the bill would guarantee “lifelong care at Veterans Administration medical facilities for service members who have been exposed to occupational and environmental hazards while deployed.”

The United States owes nothing less than that to the soldiers who went to Iraq to serve their country.

The proposal includes a proposed VA medical registry modeled after the government’s response to the Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.

Again, the country owes these soldiers nothing less than ease in receiving care. In fact, Americans owe them substantially more. That’s why a provision to shift the evidentiary burden away from the veteran is significant.

Under the measure, the veteran’s own report of exposure would constitute sufficient proof necessary to receive medical care, barring evidence to the contrary.

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